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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Team Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.